South Africa’s entertainment offering black says
The hype around Netflix is exaggerated, according to South African entertainment platform black.
While black acknowledges Netflix as a competitor, it does not see it preventing media companies from thriving locally, says chief executive Surie Ramasary.
She says black is experiencing good growth despite the presence of competitors like Netflix, Showmax and DStv in the local market.
“Netflix has built up a global brand by offering customers movies that are no longer in the rental pay window. This means content on our platform will actually have movies before they are on Netflix” she says.
Ramasary also sees local content as being a differentiating factor. “They do not offer local content in every market, including South Africa. This is where we will have a competitive edge.
“In addition we will also start to build a library of our own originals over time.” This could actually lead to job creation and not losses.
black believes as more content players enter the market customers will have increasing choice and will subscribe to more than one service.
“Much will depend on how well you treat your customer and look after their needs. Customer service will be a key differentiator as well. Media companies who are poor at this will see a decline in their subscribers.”